1997 IIHF Women's World Championship

1997 IIHF World Women's Championship
Tournament details
Host nation	Canada
Dates	March 31 - April 6
Teams	8
Champions	Canada (4 titles)
Tournament statistics
Games played	20
Goals scored	129  (6.45 per game)
Attendance	60,418  (3,021 per game)
Scoring leader(s)	Riikka Nieminen 10 points

The 1997 IIHF World Women's Championships was held March 31-April 6, 1997 in seven Canadian cities all in the Province of Ontario. Team Canada won their 4th consecutive gold medal at the World Championships defeating the United States in a repeat of the previous three finals, however this time the United States took Canada in the closest final so far, losing in overtime. Finland picked up their fourth consecutive bronze medal, with a win over China who made the Semi-Final for the second consecutive year.

This tournament also served as the qualifier for the Nagano Olympics, with the top five finishers joining host Japan. Sweden defeated first Switzerland, then Russia, in the consolation round to join the four semi-finalists in the Olympics.

Qualification

The following teams participated in the championship. Qualification was the top three from the 1996 Pacific Rim Championship, and the top five from the 1996 IIHF European Women Championships.

• Pacific Rim Championship:
  • Canada
  • China
  • United States
• European Championship:
  • Finland
  • Norway
  • Russia
  • Switzerland
  • Sweden

Final tournament

The eight participating teams were divided up into two seeded groups as below. The teams played each other once in a single round robin format. The top two teams from the group proceeded to the Final Round, while the remaining teams played in the Consolation Round.

First round

	Teams proceed to Final round
	Teams sent to Consolation round

Group A

Standings

Rk.	Team	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA	DIF	PTS
1.	Canada	3	3	0	0	22	2	+20	6
2.	China	3	2	0	1	18	12	+6	4
3.	Russia	3	0	1	2	6	18	-12	1
4.	Switzerland	3	0	1	2	6	20	-14	1

Results

All times local

March 31, 1997 7:00 pm

China

6 – 2 ( 3 - 0, 2 - 2, 1 - 0)

Russia

Attendance: 750

Game reference

March 31, 1997 7:30 pm

Canada

6 – 0 ( 1 - 0 , 2 - 0 , 3 - 0 )

Switzerland

Attendance: 3,889

Game reference

April 1, 1997 7:00 pm

China

11 – 3 ( 5 - 2 , 3 - 0 , 3 - 1 )

Switzerland

Attendance: 1,207

Game reference

April 1, 1997 7:30 pm

Canada

9 – 1 ( 3 - 0 , 3 - 0 , 3 - 1 )

Russia

Attendance: 5,559

Game reference

April 3, 1997 7:30 pm

Switzerland

3 – 3 ( 1 - 0 , 2 - 3 , 0 - 0 )

Russia

Attendance: 1,089

Game reference

April 3, 1997 7:30 pm

Canada

7 – 1 ( 5 - 0 , 1 - 0 , 1 - 1 )

China

Attendance: 5,457

Game reference

Group B

Standings

Rk.	Team	GP	W	T	L	GF	GA	DIF	PTS
1.	United States	3	2	1	0	20	3	+17	5
2.	Finland	3	2	1	0	18	3	+15	5
3.	Sweden	3	0	1	2	2	17	-15	1
4.	Norway	3	0	1	2	2	19	-17	1

Results

All times local

March 31, 1997 4:00 pm

Norway

0 – 7 ( 0 - 2 , 0 - 3 , 0 - 2 )

United States

Attendance: 3,100

Game reference

March 31, 1997 4:00 pm

Finland

5 – 0 ( 3 - 0 , 1 - 0 , 1 - 0 )

Sweden

Game reference

April 1, 1997 4:00 pm

Norway

2 – 2 ( 2 - 0 , 0 - 1 , 0 - 1 )

Sweden

Attendance: 3,068

Game reference

April 1, 1997 7:00 pm

Finland

3 – 3 ( 1 - 2 , 0 - 1 , 2 - 0 )

United States

Game reference

April 3, 1997 7:00 pm

Norway

0 – 10 ( 0 - 3 , 0 - 3 , 0 - 4 )

Finland

Attendance: 3,401

Game reference

April 3, 1997 7:00 pm

United States

10 – 0 ( 4 - 0 , 3 - 0 , 3 - 0 )

Sweden

Attendance: 3,472

Game reference

Playoff Round

Consolation Round 5-8 Place

April 4, 1997 4:00 pm

Sweden

7 – 1 ( 2 - 0 , 1 - 1 , 4 - 0 )

Switzerland

Attendance: 3,301

Game reference

April 4, 1997 7:30 pm

Russia

2 – 1 ( 1 - 1 , 1 - 0 , 0 - 0 )

Norway

Attendance: 2,849

Game reference

Consolation Round 7-8 Place

April 6, 1997 2:00 pm

Switzerland

1 – 0 ( 0 - 0 , 0 - 0 , 1 - 0 )

Norway

Attendance: 565

Game reference

Consolation Round 5-6 Place

April 6, 1997 1:00 pm

Russia

1 – 3 ( 1 - 0 , 0 - 2 , 0 - 1 )

Sweden

Attendance: 2,471

Game reference

Semifinals

April 5, 1997 1:00 pm

Canada

2 – 1 ( 0 - 1 , 1 - 0 , 1 - 0 )

Finland

Attendance: 4,963

Game reference

April 5, 1997 5:00 pm

United States

6 – 0 ( 2 - 0 , 2 - 0 , 2 - 0)

China

Attendance: 3,832

Game reference

Match for third place

April 6, 1997 4:00 pm

Finland

3 – 0 ( 0 - 0 , 0 - 0 , 3 - 0 )

China

Game reference

Final

April 6, 1997

Canada

4 – 3 OT ( 1 - 0 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 1 , 1 - 0 )

United States

Attendance: 6,247

Game reference

Champions

1997 IIHF World Women Championship Winners
Canada 4th title

Final standings

Rk.	Team	Notes
	Canada	Qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
	United States	Qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
	Finland	Qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
4.	China	Qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
5.	Sweden	Qualified for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games
6.	Russia	Qualified for the 1999 World Championships Qualification Tournament
7.	Switzerland	Qualified for the 1999 World Championships Qualification Tournament
8.	Norway	Qualified for the 1999 World Championships Qualification Tournament

References

• Duplacey, James (1998). Total Hockey: The official encyclopedia of the National Hockey League. Total Sports, 487–9. ISBN 0-8362-7114-9. 
• Podnieks, Andrew (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press, 26–7,229–30. 

External links

• Summary from the Women's Hockey Net
• Detailed summary from passionhockey.com

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